acher, Jim Casy, experiences a change in attitude as he makes the transition from “I” to “we”. Yet unlike the other characters, Casy’s transition is portrayed through his philosophy that all people are part of one whole. At the beginning of the novel, Casy was much of an independent character and his philosophy only had value for himself. Later, he realized that it is required of him to be part of this whole and help lead it as a united force. It is through this that Casy shows his togetherness with the rest of the people. Casy’s function in the novel is to offer a social message to the Joads and the rest of the migrants. Casy’s prophetic message develops throughout the course of the novel until it produces the results it does at the end. Without Casy’s ideas, it would be difficult for Tom to reach the point of development he achieves and for Ma Joad to exercise the strength that she exhibited. In Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck shows that, through Casy’s words and the actions of the migrants, people should not need to be intimidated by the authoritarian figure in times of social oppression or economical exploitation. He shows that if all people share common ground or beliefs, they will show love for one another, and this will allow “I” to become “we”, the result of a powerful alliance....
